Composite sheet material



Jan. 15, 1957 D. BRAGG, JR

COMPOSITE SHEET MATERIAL Filed Nov. l5, 1952 United rates arent f 2,777,788 Patented Jan. 15, 1957 dice 2,7 7 7,788 COMPOSITE SMET MATERIAL Lawrence D. Bragg, Jr., Andover, Mass., assigner, by mesne assignments, to The General Tire & Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of hio Application November 15, 1952, Serial No. 320,668 2 Claims. (Cl. 154-48) and readily manipulable, and exhibits as upholstery a rich, plump, cushioned appearance. While the composite material includes a backing, no objectionable alteration of the appearance of the outer surface oi' the vinyl sheeting, known as strike-through, is produced by the backsistance to directional tear.

The composite sheet material of this invention comprises a facing composed of calendered flexible vinyl sheeting, and a backing composed of felt sheeting. The

material is stretched, each layer may exert substantially its normal resistance to such stretching.

The formulation of the calendered vinyl sheeting of subjected to an abrasive effect known as wicking acit is highly desirable that a substantial portion of the plasticizer be of the polymeric or permanent type,

illustrative formulation is as follows:

The compounded material may be calendered to form a continuous sheet of desired width and thickness. For

B5 Th For certain purposes, the felt sheet of the backing layer may be of conventional character. However, in a preferred form of the invention, the felt sheeting or backing comprises a multilayer lamina containing a substantial percentage of nylon fibers. These nylon iibers preferably are relatively long, extend in all directions in the plane per se the subject of my copending application Serial No. 320,667, filed November 15, 1952.

The adhesive for securing the backing to the facing at taining -88 percent vinyl chloride and 12-15 percent vinyl acetate.

In the drawings illustrating the invention in diagrammatic fashion:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the felt sheeting;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one layer of the felt sheeting;

Fig. 3 is a perspective View, partly broken away, showing the multilayer felt sheeting and the arrangement of the layers therein;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view partly broken away, of the composite sheet material; and

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the composite sheet material, taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, the felt sheeting 2 is shown in the neighborhood of about 3 to 6 ounces per square yard, and exhibits substantially uniform stretch and strength in all directions.

The composite sheet 12 of this invention is diagrammatically illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. The facing 14 comprises suitably compounded and calendered vinyl sheeting as hereinbefore described. The felt backing 2 is coextensively bonded to the vinyl facing 14 by adhesive 16 disposed essentially only at the junction or meeting surfaces of said layers. Furthermore, there isA substantially no embedment of either layer 2 or- 14 in the other.

The adhesive Y is of such composition that it Will adhesively bondrthe meeting surfaces of the felt layer 2 and the vinyl layer i4. Conveniently, this is a Weliplasticized polymer of vinyl chloride. y

The adhesive bonding of layers 2 and 14 may be carried outV in any one of several Ways. The adhesive layer 16 preferably Ais just applied to the surface of felt layer 2, Without substantial penetrationV of the adhesive into, and stiffening of, the felt. rl `his may be accomplished by spraying plasticized vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer in substantially cob-Web form on the attaching surface of the felt,from a volatile solvent dispersion, or in molten form. Alternatively, auk aqueous mechanical dispersion of comminuted copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate may be spread over the felt sheeting 2 While the felt is moist, as after the scouring operation, whereby the particles of comminuted polymer are deposited on the surface of the felt. In the latter case, the water in the felt is removed before the operation of bonding the felt to the vinyl sheet.

While the assembly of the composite sheet material i2 may be' carried out by the solvent activation ofthe vinyl adhesive, it is preferred to utilize the thermoplastic characteristics of the vinyl adhesive and the vinyl sheeting. rhus, in the event that bothV the vinyl facing 14 and the adhesive-coated felt backing are at room temperature when they are to be assembled, both laminae may be heated to a temperature at which the adhesive 16'is active and the vinyl sheet i4 sufficiently soft so that 'the adhesive 16 and the substance of the sheet 14 may unite integrally.

The `adhesive union of the facing 14 and felting 2` may then be brought about by pressing them together under attaching pressure which is sufficient 'to-bring about adequate adhesion but insuflicient to bring. about substantial embedment of either layerZ or 14 in the other.

A preferred method of adhesively securing the vinyl facing 14 and felt backing 2 to form the composite sheet material 12 is s'etY forth in my copending application Serial No. 320,669, tiledl November l5, 1952. According to this method, the vinyll sheet is combined with the felt backing immediately after the'calenderi'ng ofthe vinyl facing, before it has cooled materially.` The vinyl adhesive-coated felt sheeting is heated to a temperaturetat which the adhesive is active, andthe-felt andvinyl sheeting brought together under pressure immediately after the latter emerges from the calender rolls, after which the combined' material is permitted to cool. The combining pressure, however, is moderate as distinguished from the high calendering pressure, so' that embedment of veither facing or backing layer in the other is avoided.

When the resulting composite structure 12 is stretched,

in its subsequent utilization a's upholstery covering or otherwise, each layer mayv exert substantially its normal resistance to such stretching, Wih highly advantageous results as indicated hereinbefore, including full utilization of the properties of the felt'backing. i

In the composite sheet material 12, the outer surface of the vinyl layer i4 may be printed', for example to simulate the coloring of leather. Such printing may take place before or after the adhesive attachment of the vinyl sheeting 14 to the felt sheeting 2. However, when the combining takes place immediately after the calendering of the vinyl sheet, as in the preferred method described above, any such printing will take place after the combining operation.

The composite sheet material 12 lends itself admirably to subsequent embossing of the outer surface of the vinyl layer 14, both from the standpoint of. the embossing operation itself, and with respect to the character and appearance of the embossedtproduct.

lt will be understood that various modifications' may be made in the disclosures herein While still comingvwithin the scope of the appended claims.

What l claim is:

l. Flexible sheet material. comprising a lamina of polyvinyl plastic and a coextensive multilayer lamina of felt sheeting; said felt sheeting exhibiting a dry Weight in the neighborhood of 3 to 6 ounces per square yard and being composed primarily ofy nylon and Woo iibers, said nylon fibers constituting about 50 to about 35 percent by Weight of the fiber content of the sheeting, saidV sheeting coniprising yat least eight. layers each containing nylon and Wool fibers primarily oriented in one direction in the plane of the layer, saidv layers being superimposed one upon another with the fiber orientations of adjacent layers in angular relationship of not more than about 60, the fibers of the top andbottom layers being oriented in the same direction, said nylon fibersV being bonded together at their intersections byv butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer, said layers being compacted to form a web exhibiting substantially uniform stretch and strength in all directions; said laminae being coext'ensively secured together, without embedment of either lamina in the other, by a vinyl adhesive vselected from the group consisting of vinyl chloride and vinyl'y chloride-vinyly acetate polymer disposed essentially only at the meeting 'surfaces of said laminae.

21 Flexible sheet material comprising a l mina of polyvinyl plastic andl a coextensive lamina of.' felt sheeting; said felt sheeting exhibiting a dry weight'in-the neighborhood of 3V to 6 ounces per squarefyard and being composed primarily ot` nylon and Woolf fibers, saidv nylon fibers constituting about 30 to about 35y percent by weight of the liber content of the sheeting, said sheeting'comprising at least one layer containing nylon andl viool fibers primarily oriented in one direction. in the plane of the layer, said. nylonk fibersbei'ng. bonded together. at their intersections by butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymenjsaid laminae being compacted to for-ml a Web enhit'xiting' sub'- stantially uniform stretch and strength. in all directionsY and being coextensively secured' together, Without embedment of either lamina inthe other, by a vinyl adhesive selected from the group consisting of vinyl chloride and vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate polymer disposedI essentially only at the. meeting surfaces of said laminae.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNTED STATES liA'l-`El-llS'` 2,270,223 Schlack lan. 13; 1942 2,444,094l Duggan lune 29", 1948 2,453,052 Etten Nov. 2, 1948 2,530,4'4l Reinhardt etv all Nov. 2l, 1950 2,533,976 Teague Dee.' 152', 1950 2,543,161- Francis Feb. 27', 19;-51 2,589,502 Lurie Mar. 18, 15952 

1. FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL COMPRISING A LAMINA OF POLYVINYL PLASTIC AND A COEXTENSIVE MULTILAYER LAMINA OF FELT SHEETING; SAID FELT SHEETING EXHIBITING A DRY WEIGHT IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 3 TO 6 OUNCES PER SQUARE YARD AND BEING COMPOSED PRIMARILY OF NYLON AND WOOL FIBERS, SAID NYLON FIBERS CONSTITUTING ABOUT 30 TO ABOUT 35 PERCENT BY WEIGHT OF THE FIBER CONTENT OF THE SHEETING, SAID SHEETING COMPRISING AT LEAST EIGHT LAYERS EACH CONTAINING NYLON AND WOOL FIBERS PRIMARILY ORIENTED IN ONE DIRECTION IN THE PLANE OF THE LAYER, SAID LAYERS BEING SUPERIMPOSED ONE UPON ANOTHER WITH THE FIBER ORIENTATIONS OF ADJACENT LAYERS IN ANGULAR RELATIONSHIP OF NOT MORE THAN ABOUT 60*, THE FIBERS OF THE AND BOTTOM LAYERS BEING ORIENTED IN THE SAME DIRECTION, SAID NYLON FIBERS BEING BONDED TOGETHER AT THEIR INTERSECTIONS BY BUTADIENE-ACRYLONITRILE COPOLYMER, SAID LAYERS BEING COMPACTED TO FORM A WEB EXHIBITING SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM STRETCH AND STRENGTH IN ALL DIRECTIONS; SAID LAMINAE BEING COEXTENSIVELY SECURED TOGETHER, WITHOUT EMBEDMENT OF EITHER LAMINA IN THE OTHER, BY A VINYL ADHESIVE SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF VINYL CHLORIDE AND VINYL CHLORIDE-VINYL ACETATE POLYMER DISPOSED ESSENTIALLY ONLY AT THE MEETING SURFACES OF SAID LAMINAE. 